The present invention relates to a system and method for the treatment of sleeping disorders such as bruxism, jaw clenching, and snoring. Bruxism is the abnormal excessive and non-functional nocturnal or subconscious grinding of teeth which may or may not be associated with jaw clenching. Snoring is typically related to the manner of breathing (i.e., through the mouth as opposed to through the nose), the sleeping position (i.e., on the back versus on the side), or both.
At a minimum, bruxism and jaw clenching will typically result in excessive tooth wear and periodontal problems. Unfortunately in many cases this clenching or bruxing action not only damages the teeth themselves, but also the supporting structure of the teeth including both the hard bony material and the soft tissue. As a result, in more extreme cases these disorders lead to TMJ, jaw displacement, stiff neck, and severe headaches. Research on bruxism has shown that bruxism is linked with stress. Although not everyone who bruxes is under stress, it has been shown that some people grind their teeth more after a tense day, or in the anticipation of stress. As stress, or the perception of stress occurs, bruxism is likely to occur.
Snoring, unlike bruxism, may or may not be related to stress. Typically snoring is simply a consequence of how a person breathes while they sleep or the position in which they sleep. Often snoring is symptomatic of another problem, such as an allergy, which affects the way in which a person breathes. Therefore once a solution is found to the root problem, the snoring problem may disappear. Unfortunately not all snoring is related to such a solvable root problem.
One traditional treatment for teeth grinding involves placing a protective layer of acrylic material, generally referred to as a splint, over the involved teeth. This acrylic layer serves to protect the teeth from direct contact, thus reducing wear, and to spread the load caused by clenching so that it is shared more equally among the neighboring teeth. This reduces wear of the teeth, but the acrylic protective layer does not address the problem of clenching, which frequently continues indefinitely. In some cases the urge to clench is worsened.
A second traditional treatment for clenching is occlusal adjustment. This treatment involves selective grinding of teeth so that the load on the teeth caused by clenching is carried evenly by several teeth rather than being concentrated on one or two. This technique is successful with some but not all types of clenching. However, if not carefully practiced, it can lead to subsequent legal liability which is enhanced because of the permanent nature of the procedure.
Since bruxism is generally the result of stress, typical traditional solutions which focus on guarding against the physical consequences of bruxing fail to permanently relieve the patient. A permanent solution must lie either in eliminating the stress causing agent or in improving stress management skills.
One method of treating both bruxism and snoring is behavior modification. Behavior modification typically involves directing a stimulus, sometimes an unpleasant one, at the patient whenever he or she practices the undesirable behavior. Thus the patient gradually learns not to perform the undesirable behavior, thus avoiding the unpleasant stimulus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,378 discloses a system for monitoring bruxism by measuring the electrical signals emitted by the jaw muscles. The monitoring apparatus is mounted on a probe that is inserted into one of the user""s ear channels. When the system detects jaw muscle activity associated with bruxism, it alerts the user, for example by emitting an audible tone or a prerecorded message.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,367 discloses a behavioral modification device which may be used to detect and treat snoring, bruxism, and sleep apnea. The patent discloses the use of pressure sensors mounted on either side of the forehead and actuated by flexing the temporal muscles. The patent also discloses using microphones to sense breathing and snoring. The output of the system is a regulatable electric shock applied to the user through a neck collar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,867 discloses a device for use in suppressing snoring. A microphone, either a throat microphone or a microphone mounted in a headband, detects the snoring noises. Once detected, a sound generator capable of generating a plurality of tones of varying intensity is used to transmit a sound to the user in order to modify their behavior. The tone and intensity composition of the sound may either be varied randomly or in response to the detected snoring.
Although a variety of different systems have been devised to prevent and/or modify a person""s tendency towards snoring, bruxism, and jaw clenching, these systems have typically met only limited success for a variety of reasons. For example, many systems are unreasonably uncomfortable, making normal sleep or day time use impossible. Therefore an improved method of modifying a person""s behavior, specifically behavior associated with bruxism, jaw clenching, or snoring, is desirable.
The present invention provides at least one technique for monitoring an undesired behavioral disorder such as bruxism, jaw clenching, or snoring. A processor correlates the monitored behavior with the onset of the undesired disorder. Since behavior of this type is typically subconscious, the sensor is preferably coupled to a warning device to alert the patient when he or she is performing the undesired behavior. Typically the warning device causes the patient to experience an unpleasant sensation, thus promoting the discontinuance of the behavior. In one aspect of the invention, the system determines which stimulus is most effective and therefore best suited for an individual patient. The invention may also include means to record the monitored data related to the undesired behavioral disorders. This feature allows the patient to receive data related to the rate, duration, intensity, and time of day that the unconscious behavior occurred thus enabling the patient to correlate the behavior with outside factors (e.g., stress, lack of sleep, etc.).
A variety of different sensor types may be used with the present invention. For example, the sensor may monitor sounds (e.g., snoring, teeth grinding) emitted by the patient during the undesirable behavior. These sounds may be monitored with a microphone that detects the audible sounds, or with a microphone that detects sounds that are conducted by the patient""s body tissues. Alternatively, the sensor may monitor changes in a group of muscles that are effected by the behavioral disorder. For example, muscles within the jaw and the temple contract during jaw clenching. Changes in a muscle group may be determined by monitoring such muscle properties as density, resiliency, electrical conductivity, electrical activity, elasticity, and thickness.
The stimulus from the system""s warning device may take any form, alone or in combination, that causes the patient to alter their behavior. For example, the device may produce an odor, a change in temperature, an unpleasant sound, a vibration, a pressure differential, an electrical shock, a high frequency, or a flash of light.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.